FOREST CITY — The 24th annual Walk for Life, organized by Hands of Hope, was held April 29 at Immaculate Conception Church. Approximately 170 people from 25 churches participated in the two-mile walk that raised more than $11,000.
Sponsors for the event, in addition to Immaculate Conception Church, included Woodforest National Bank, Hampton Cab LLC, McArthur Landscaping, Rutherford Veterinary Hospital, Green Hill Store,
Steve McCurry Painting, Carolina Cafe and The Shake Shop. Hands of HOPE (Help Offered in a Pregnancy Experience) is a non-profit Christian pro-life pregnancy care ministry.
The organization offers free pregnancy testing, prenatal and parenting education, life skills workshops, Christian counseling, Bible studies and material assistance (diapers, wipes, baby and maternity clothes, etc.). The event included food, live music, games, face painting and door prizes. One of the organizers was Traci Burnett, who is Hands of Hope Client services director and a member of Immaculate Conception Church.
— Giuliana Polinari Riley | Catholic News Herald
New grotto blessed on 75th anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish May 10
New grotto blessed on 75th anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish May 10MONROE — Parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church marked the parish’s 75th anniversary May 10 with a tribute to their patron as Father Benjamin Roberts, pastor, blessed and dedicated a new Marian grotto.
Hundreds of parishioners braved the heat and the evening sun to sit on the new stone benches surrounding the grotto, situated in a grassy area behind the church, to witness the blessing and sing songs in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“This grotto preaches in the language of beauty, and long after my voice falls silent, the language of beauty will continue to preach here,” Father Benjamin Roberts said during the May 10 ceremony.
He, Father Santiago Mariani, parochial vicar, and Deacon Guillermo Anzola participated in the blessing rite which included a reading from the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth in Luke’s Gospel, prayers of blessing and the sprinkling of holy water.
Father Mariani, who studied at the Pontifical College of North America in Rome, noted, “It’s like a little St. Peter’s, the way the stone benches come out on each side (reminiscent of the colonnade extending out from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome). It’s like the arms of Our Lady extend out to embrace us.”
Deacon Anzola said he hopes the grotto will help increase the faith of parishioners. “The Holy Spirit was in this (effort). The Virgin Mary will be there forever. We will take advantage of this place to increase the faith of our Hispanic community and they will start seeing the Virgin Mary in another way (besides as Our Lady of Guadalupe), to see her as Our Lady of Lourdes and love her as that,” he said.
“This is such a fabulous thing that he (Father Roberts) has done for our church,” said longtime parishioner Donna White. “It turned out really beautiful. You can sit, say a prayer. We love this church. It means so much to us.”
Rosa Gutierrez, parish music director for Spanish services, said, “It’s beautiful!” She performed the Lourdes hymn “Immaculate Mary” with guitarists and a Spanish choir of men, women and children at the ceremony. She remarked that the parish is “blessed with two mothers, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Lourdes.”
Raul Sontay, a parishioner for the past 15 years, owns Orchid’s Landscaping which built the grotto. He and a team of six men constructed the grotto over the course of three weeks.
“It makes me feel good (to help give this to the church),” Sontay said. “I wanted to do something for everyone to enjoy.
“When you do something, it’s not important how much money you make doing it. The point is how much you love what you are doing. When you do something for love, everything comes out beautiful. The team worked together. Everybody put their love, passion into each stone.”
He said his wife Orquidia gave him the idea to plant lilies around the walkway.
“The grotto project was funded primarily through the parish funds from the ‘Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love’ campaign, as well as donations from several different parish groups and individuals,” Father Roberts noted. “The two statues and the granite for the altar were donated by parishioners.”
In his concluding remarks during the blessing, Father Roberts said, “Long after all of the voices of those of us gathered here fall silent and join the chorus of the praisers in the Kingdom of God, the language of beauty of this grotto will continue to preach the mercy of God, the healing of God and the hope that is ours in God under the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — Priest assignments for 2017 by Bishop Peter J. Jugis are as follows:
- Newly ordained Father Peter Ascik will serve as parochial vicar for the summer at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte.
- Newly ordained Father Matthew Bean will serve as parochial vicar at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte.
- Newly ordained Father Brian Becker will serve as parochial vicar at St. Mark Church in Huntersville.
- Newly ordained Father Christopher Bond will serve as parochial vicar at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.
- Newly ordained Father Christian Cook will serve as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.
- Father Paul Buchanan will serve as pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.
- Father Noah Carter will serve as parochial vicar at St. Mark Church in Huntersville.
- Father Cory Catron will become parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe. He had been serving at St. Mark Church.
- Father Jason Christian will become parochial vicar at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia. He had been serving at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.
- Father Casey Coleman, parochial vicar at St. Vincent de Paul Church, will become pastor of St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Sylva.
- Father Joseph Dinh will be pastor at Christ the King Church in High Point. He was pastor at St. Joseph Church in Eden.
- Father Pat Hoare, pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte, will become pastor of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.
- Father Eric Kowalski will become pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Mocksville. He was pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.
- Father Mark Lawlor will become pastor of St. Therese Church in Mooresville in July, as the Jesuits who have staffed the parish depart this summer. Father Lawlor has been pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Charlotte. He will be assisted by Father Paul McNulty, who is currently parochial vicar at St. Mark Church in Huntersville. Father McNulty will continue to serve as the chaplain at Christ the King High School.
- Father Santiago Mariani will serve as parochial vicar at St. Vincent De Paul Church. He had been serving as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe.
- Father Gnanapragasam Mariasoosai, formerly pastor of Christ the King Church in High Point, has been named pastor at St. Joseph of the Hills Church in Eden.
- Monsignor John J. McSweeney, pastor of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, will be retiring in July after 42 years of priesthood. Read more.
- Father Thomas P. Norris, OSFS, has become pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point, replacing Father Vincent Smith, OSFS, effective Nov. 27.
- Father Christopher Riehl has resigned his position as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception in Canton for personal reasons.
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Father Becket Soule has been named administrator of St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton. Father Soule has taught canon law and history and currently serves as a judge for the Diocese of Charlotte. He’s a sought-after lecturer, preacher and retreat minister.
- Father John Starczewski will become pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte. He had been serving at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Mocksville.
- Father Joshua Voitus, pastor of St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Sylva, will become pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.
As more unofficial assignments are announced, we will publish them here and on our Facebook page.
— Catholic News Herald
KERNERSVILLE — Before receiving the sacrament of confirmation May 6, confirmation students at Holy Cross Church spent one of their last classes focused on understanding mercy, the Beatitudes, and service to others.
For parishioners at Holy Cross, the students made soup mixes in jars to give to the parish’s care office for the sick and homebound. In service to the Kernersville community, the students made birthday bags for Crisis Control that included supplies for a birthday party; they crafted dog chew toys for the local animal shelter; no-sew quilts were put together for the homeless; they pinned dress material to help the local Columbiettes Auxiliary 8509 with their pillowcase dress project; and they helped the local Knights of Columbus Auxiliary 8509 with their Stars for Our Troops project.
They pushed even further to reach others outside of their immediate world by clipping coupons for overseas veteran families and by partnering with an organization called Sole Hope (based in Salisbury) to cut material for children’s shoes that will be made and dispersed in Uganda.
— Photo provided by Denys Davis
$250,000 donation to benefit parish World Hunger Drive
$250,000 donation to benefit parish World Hunger DriveCHARLOTTE — Monsignor John McSweeney is known for being direct. From upstate New York, he is a person of few words but long on action and making a difference in people’s lives. He is a pastor who gets things done, with the support of his staff and 10,000-plus registered families who comprise the nation’s largest Catholic parish.
To memorialize his efforts as pastor over the past 18 years, an anonymous donor has given $250,000 to establish an endowment for a cause dear to Monsignor McSweeney’s heart: the parish World Hunger Drive.
Each summer, St. Matthew parishioners form an army of volunteers who help collect literally tons of non-perishable food, then assemble and pack more than 300,000 meals that are shipped overseas to people in need. Agencies that benefit from the parish’s outreach include the Missionaries of the Poor, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte and Second Harvest Food Bank.
The Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Outreach Program Endowment Fund will help ensure an annual funding source to continue this work at the parish.
“I was humbled by the endowment that is being placed in my name,” Monsignor McSweeney said. “I see that as a tremendous love of the donors for the poor, as I do myself. The hope is that those funds will be able to assist in those times of unique need for individuals.”
Mark Creasser, coordinator of the parish’s World Hunger Drive, calls the ministry an important outreach effort by the St. Matthew parish family to serve people in Haiti and Jamaica.
“Our parishioners feel blessed that we can assist the Missionaries of the Poor and others who are helping the people in these countries,” Creasser said. “Last year, our parishioners volunteered 4,000 hours in packing, collecting and shipping of eight 40-foot containers. We have shipped over 2.2 million pounds of food and materials (to Haiti and Jamaica through the Missionaries of the Poor) since we began the program in 2003.”
Judy Smith, of the office of development with the diocese, calls the endowment “a wonderful example of how a thoughtful and generous donor can make an impact where there is great need, and one that will last for many future generations.”
The anonymous donor explained the reasoning behind setting up this endowment: “Under Monsignor McSweeney, St. Matthew World Hunger Drive has served the poor internationally and locally since beginning 14 years ago. The endowment will ensure the Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive continues on as St. Matthew parishioners put into practice, ‘An Attitude of Gratitude.’ ”
The endowment will be administered through the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation. Established in 1994, the foundation has grown to encompass 246 endowments and more than $43 million in total assets.
To date, more than 900 people have indicated that they are making gifts to the Church in their estates, anywhere from the thousands to the millions of dollars.
Endowments provide an ongoing source of support, as the principal funds remain intact and the recipient entity receives funds from the income.
Recent endowments include an estate gift last year to St. Barnabas Church in Arden – the largest endowment gift the diocese has ever received. Originally the endowment was estimated to be $3.6 million, but that figure has now increased to $4.1 million upon the estate being finalized, diocesan officials said.
Also, a couple from Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville recently donated a condo that was sold to generate an endowment of $403,000 for Immaculata School. That means the school will be able to use approximately $20,000 annually to help fund scholarships and provide other financial help to the school.
The Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Outreach Program Endowment Fund was a cash gift.
“This endowment means that our program can continue for years to come,” Creasser explained. “It is heartwarming to see this incredible gift in the name of Monsignor McSweeney, who has been a great supporter of World Hunger Drive. We want to thank the wonderful people who made this gift possible, and ask that the good Lord bless them and their family.”
For details about establishing an endowment or providing an estate gift, contact Ray-Eric Correia, diocesan director of planned giving, at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter